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Tester will wait to decide on money

WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Tester will await the outcome of criminal corruption charges against Sen. Robert Menendez before deciding whether to keep $10,000 he received from a political action committee associated with the New Jersey Democrat.

Marnee Banks, director of communications with the Montana Democrat, said Monday if Menendez is convicted, Tester will donate the money to charity.

"Sen. Menendez is innocent until proven guilty. Jon wants to see the legal process play out," Banks said.

Menendez, 61, was indicted last week on 14 counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, for his relationship with wealthy donor Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist. The indictment against the two men charged that Menendez used his office to benefit Melgen's business interests in exchange for almost $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez has pleaded innocent to the charges and said Melgen was nothing more than a good friend.

A growing number of lawmakers in the Senate are facing pressure to return money given to them from Menendez's New Millennium PAC, which has contributed more than $2 million to Democratic candidates since 2000. Tester received $10,000 in 2011.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado have announced they will donate the money they received to charity, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said she will return money from the senator and from his PAC.

"He should follow the lead of his other Democratic colleagues who have already returned the money," Shipp said. "Obviously they felt the charges were serious enough and substantial enough that that money should be returned. It's kind of mind-boggling that Sen. Tester, in a position of leadership, would hold on to those funds when his Democratic colleagues are returning them."

Jeremy Johnson, associate professor of political science at Carroll College in Helena, said he does not think the donation will be a significant issue for Tester, who is up for re-election in 2018. By then, the Menendez case likelywill be forgotten, he said.

"People care a lot more in Montana about Montana issues but also federal issues that deal with them more directly," Johnson said. "I think Tester is playing it about as appropriately as he can."